Nobody thinks that maybe the deep problems of Italy's economy, as that of the others euro-zone countries pointed out in this article: rigidity in labor market, bureaucracy etc. is just a profligacy of the lenders?
Only when the lenders will pay the toll they will realize their contribution to the dislocation of the resources in a global world.

As Berlusconi is supposed to be stepping down in the near future, this would be a change of fortune for Italy. With a new prime minister, this could give them the opportunity to restructure and revitalize their economy to help grow their GDP. They need to move away from small businesses and the restrictions in the job market to allow for further growth.

Perhaps Berlusconi should step down like the prime minister of Greece. Looking like the next Greece, Italy could benefit from a strong, competent leader to help get them and the EU out the major slump that it's in right now.

The future economy of Italy does not look at all good. They may be doing better than Greece, but they still have a long road to recovery. Berlusconi needs to resign quick so they can get a Prime Minister who actually cares and knows what he is doing. Berlusconi's resignation will help their horrid economy.

The economic woes of Italy puts the country in a difficult position. Italy needs to find a way to reduce it's debt as soon as possible. If they could help the citizens of their country get better jobs then it could help the country be more productive, though it's hard to say if it will help Italy's predicament at this point. It's a shame that hardly no one is coming to it's aid similar to Greece's outside support.

I suppose big businesses can add value to a nation's economy, but I don't think it can solve Italy's debt problems. As evidenced by American big business, a lot of big corporations can exploit loopholes in tax codes, essentially making them have no positive effect on a country's revenues at all.

Italy's chances for survival rest not just on Europe, for sought after China to buy bonds. Unlike Greece who has bad rep among neighboring countries. However both faced bad leadership from a non-budgeting to thrill seeking president. It also seems that either Greece doesn't want to sell bonds or no one is interested. With the leading GDP's in the east and everyone else worried about theirs, only solution to refill Italy and Greece's banks and willing to take a risk would be the east.

Italy's economy is quite not as bad off as Greece's, but Greece is really bad off and Italy is much better off. They need to get rid of Berlusconi and start from the top down. It is time for the government and the people both to work together to get this problem solved. The more they can work together the faster this problem will get fixed.

1) Industrial concentration does not automatically lead to monopoly. If markets expand internationally concentration at the national level is just what is needed to keep an efficent size equilibrium -and in fact that's pretty much what has always happened in every alleged "rising monopoly" phase of capitalism as the first decades of the XX century and the second postwar period. This is pretty much globalization at work: increasing returns when scale effects of access to foreign markets are felt constitute the biggest "gain from trade" of the whole free trade story -pace Adam Smith.

Internationalization of production and its inherent potentialities are very much correlated to dimension -of firm if not of plant. Of course, multinationals can fragment production, outsource services and so on, but the irony is that only big enterprises are able to do this and benefit from it. Small fishes simply receive orders from them, which is not bad, but in the end they are almost structurally in a weaker market position. It is true that there are so called pocket-sized multinationals, but they are not going to replace big business in any way.

2)Monopoly is not bad in itself, not in welfare terms nor in growth terms. Have you evern read some Schumpeter or Alfred Chandler?

Is this the beginning of the end for the euro zone? With Greece's horrible economic state and Italy following in its path Europe isnt looking too good right now. Im many ways Italy's struggling economy is worse then the Greece situation because Italy is such a big economy and nation. Europe doesnt have the resources to aid then and pull them back from economic failure. Right now Italy and the rest of Europe is thinking of every possible solution...and the next step will most likely be to kick Berlusconi....It remains, however, a very serious situation that can cause some incredible consequences if not dealt with soon.

Italy MUST take full advantage of Berlusconi's departure if they are to ensure that their economy does not get as bad as Greece. If they ever needed a ray of hope, this is it. The biggest problem with Italy is not only the vast size of its debt but also the sheer size of the country. This country is much bigger than any other European country that has come in dire need of a bailout. Here is some more statistical data that I came across: Italy has €173.3bn in short term and long term debt maturing for the rest of this year. Between 2011 and 2014 Italy has €656.4bn maturing. This, together with the IMF estimating that Italian banks need €40bn in new capital in the short term shows signs of need for quick and drastic measures. So basically, debt is high, growth is low and Italy is too big to save. Therefore, in the long term, Italy is going to be a much bigger problem that people are currently expecting.

It really does seem strange to think about how much trouble the European economies are having right now. The EU has always been one of the strongest and richest organizations in the world and now they are struggling so much. It really goes to show that uniting nations who still don't entirely have common goals and leadership can still cause issues. All it takes is one or two to fail and the rest get dragged down with them.

I hope that Italy will not end up like Greece but honestly, it looks as if they are overwhelmingly parallel! However, Italy still has time and can turn things around. Unlike Greece, they are not completely doomed. The euro can still be saved!

The fall of the Euro is definitely having an effect on Italy, and the consequences of this will only begin to show up more and more on Italy. Italy's economy may not be as poor as Greece's but with the countries surrounding it being so competitive, Italy does not stand as good of a chance as keeping their economy strong and stable.

"If Italy is to carry its outsize public debts, it urgently needs to promote an environment where big businesses can flourish." .... right, so big business can more offshore and create even more unemployment at home ... looking to big busisnes for solutions is like looking to Rick Big Business Perry to be president .... in the world today big business pays less and less tax, so what is needed is fair taxation, not corruption which lies at the heart of the entire financial crisis. Who is responsible for this corruption .... big business ...

I will say this. Italy will likely leave the Euro. And, the Italians, knowing them, will get mad for a bit and then they'll go have a good dinner and some wine and tomorrow, well tomorrow will be another day.

God Bless the Italians. I love all you guys. Let's not forget, these are Romans we're talking about and they're smart.

Where is that infamous Italian sense of pride and perseverance? They need it now more than ever. Italy may not be in the same dire position as Greece, Ireland, and Portugal are but to carry on as they are doing will no doubt get them there. Their situation is not a direct result of a failing economy, but that of a corrupt government. Italy has options here to produce a budget surplus, but it doesn’t look like much is going to get done until reforms take place around 2012-2014.

Italy is a mess. The GDP chart highlighted in the article says it all. Italy is ranked 167/179. If there is any bright spot for Italy it's that Berlusconi and all of his scandals are now out. Italy needs to take a step back and begin to assess the situation from a new perspective. Keep Fiat in the country along with other prominent companies. This can slowly bring in cash flows which can hopefully lead to brighter things. Italy made the first right move, now lets see if they can pull themselves out of this one.